Time Waits For No One
by MissDismal
Summary: And, in this form, the demon of the other world that had so plagued Gravity Falls so long ago was... Far from what Mabel had remembered. "I thought we destroyed you! In Gruncle Stan's mind... You were erased! We erased you!"


The young woman stared down at her suitcase intensely as she envisioned just how to work this out. Her favorite CDs, sweaters, booze, and carefully wrapped gifts... She needed all of them in this last piece of luggage, but it seemed the god of packing hadn't graced her with an easy solution. So, in her last attempts, she began stuffing once again in a determined effort to clasp the latch.

"Mabel! Are you finished yet?" Came the familiar and overbearing voice of her brother floating in from her window. Of course, he was probably finished packing _his_ things by now. She'd watched her dork of a brother spend the last week preparing and planning exactly what to pack and how to fit it all into the back of the Jeep Wrangler they'd been given for their 20th birthday.

"I'm almost done, just give me a second!" She called back with her hands cupping either side of her mouth to make her voice carry. Then, with a newly rekindled fire, Mabel Pines crammed the spilling items back into the suitcase and wrestled the lid to try and finally close it. Once she heard the faint 'click' of the latch securing the lid closed, she gave a relieved sigh before slipping off her bed. She turned around to face a wall opposite her bed where a vanity sat against it, and besides that on the floor was a large pillow where her best friend lay watching her get ready. She grinned towards the pig laying in his bed and then looked at herself in the vanity mirror. She squinted.

"What do you think, Waddles?" Mabel asked as she examined her image in the mirror. She was wearing some denim jean shorts and a light white sweater with colorful patterns she had sewn in. Some yellow star-shaped earrings decorated her ears and a pair of purple sunglasses sat atop her head. Braces no longer adorned her teeth and her brunette hair was still long and wavy. She smiled slightly but it soon faltered as she gave a sigh, before her pig perked up his head and snorted at her. She blinked, looking to the pig again before she walked towards him from her bed. She flopped on her knees on the carpeted floor and rubbed behind his ears with her hands.

"Waddles... You always know just what to say." She chuckled, kissing his head before moving to stand up again. That was when she suddenly heard the door to the garage open from downstairs.

"Ready to go yet?" She heard her brother again call up the stairs from the first floor. She peaked her head out of her doorway when he continued. "I got everything packed in the car; sunscreen, a cooler with some sandwiches, beer, and soda... Disposable cameras, walkie-talkies..." His voice seemed to get lower until it was a nearly inaudible mumble. Mable smirked and rolled her eyes; it was just like her brother to over-prepare for everything. She wouldn't be surprised if he had made a super long check-list just for the occasion. With a soft sigh, she slipped back into her room to go over to her bed and grab her suitcase along with a small bag filled with Waddles' things. She looked to the pig and beamed.

"C'mon boy, let's get going before Dipping Sauce packs up the whole house!" She laughed before hurrying out of the bedroom and going down the stairs, her suitcase thumping down each step with Waddles hopping down after her. She met Dipper at the base of the stairs with a grin. "Ready to go, bro-bro!"

Then she blinked as her brother looked back at her with a raised brow. "You know, we're not kids anymore. You don't have to keep calling me 'Dipping Sauce.'"

Mabel looked at him in slight disbelief. "Pffft, whaddya mean? That's a classic! Besides, nicknames mean we're close; anyone can call you *Mason,* but I reserve the rights to call you Dipping Sauce! Or Dipping Dots, Or Lil' Dip!" She went on, trying to come up with more punny names to call her brother. She only stopped when a hand suddenly clasped over her mouth.

"Okay, okay! I'll accept Dipper and Dipping Sauce, but that's it. " Her brother replied. She rolled her eyes but with a hidden smirk, she stuck her tongue out and licked the palm of his hand that was placed over her mouth, making Dipper's eyes widen and quickly pull his hand away.

"Augh! Gross." He huffed. Mabel only giggled and shrugged her shoulders before she brushed past him with her suitcase dragging behind her. She stepped out of the garage and to the driveway where the Jeep was parked. It had a green and yellow paint job with bold red stripes decorating the sides and front. On both back-passenger doors of the Jeep was a red circle logo with a black silhouette of a Pteranodon. Dipper and Mabel had begged their parents for the odd color choice, solely for the reason it was inspired by one of their favorite flicks.

Mabel opened the trunk of the convertible Jeep and with her brother's help, they lifted her luggage and tucked it away inside before closing the door. She sighed and moved to lean against the side of the vehicle before turning to look at their childhood home. She glanced down at Waddles who came to sit at her feet and then to her brother who stood beside her.

"It's been a while since the two of us have gone on a trip, huh?" Dipper commented, his sister watching as he leaned back against the car next to her and folded his arms over his chest.

Mabel smiled softly, nodding in agreement as she looked up at their house. "Yeah, actually... I think the last time we even took a trip outside Cali was the first time we went to Gravity Falls... How long ago was that?" She glanced over to see Dipper squinting and furrow his brows the way only her nerdy brother would when he was calculating something in his head.

"Ah... Seven? Yeah, seven years." He concluded, making her eyes widen.

"What? No way it's been that long! Are you sure?" Mable exclaimed, looking towards her brother in disbelief while he ran a hand over his messy brown hair as if still in thought.

"Well, we came back home right after our 13th birthday... We're both twenty now, so yeah... The math checks out. Sure doesn't feel like it's been that long though, huh?" He glanced to Mabel with a sheepish smile.

"God, I bet everyone's super old now." She laughed towards Dipper who gave her a small smirk.

"We're all old, Mabel. Time waits for no one, as they say." He sighed. Mabel watched him curiously as he reached his hand into his pocket to pull out a set of keys attached to a keyring. "We should probably get going, we have a 10-hour drive ahead of us and we're wasting daylight just standing around here." He chuckled.

Mabel nodded, but her mouth thinned to a small pout as Dipper moved to the driver's side of the car to open the door. However, she was quick to suddenly seize his arm. "Nu-uh! I wanna drive this time!" She reached to take the keys from his hand, but Dipper rose his hand high above his head, dangling the keys just out of her reach.

"Oh no, if you want them you gotta fight me for them! Rock, paper, scissors." He grinned; his sister standing up on her toes in a desperate attempt to grab them. However, she eventually relented and flopped back on her heels with a slightly annoyed huff.

"Ugh... Fine, but no cheating!" She mock-glared at him before smiling and extending a hand, to which she promptly folded into a fist. Her brother did the same with his other free hand, placing his fist beside hers.

"Ready... Rock... Paper..." Mabel squinted at both their hands as Dipper counted down.

"Scissors!" Her brother exclaimed, spreading his index and middle finger out to form the scissors shape, just as Mabel at the same time had flattened out her hand to look like a sheet of paper. She blinked, her face scrunching up in a slight scowl while her brother grinned triumphantly.

"Augh! No fair, you totally rigged that." She pouted, before a mischevious smirk formed on her lips. "Fiiine... Well..." She suddenly turned from him and moved around towards the back of the Jeep, just as she noticed her brother's confused expression at her actions. She popped the trunk door open before slipping out a blue cooler he had packed up. She pried open the lid, reaching inside.

"Whoa, hey, what are you doing?" Dipper blinked dumbfoundedly, and his sister only grinned as she took out a can of beer from a 6-pack of Pitt Light he'd put in the cooler, of which he may or may not have 'borrowed' from their parent's fridge. Mabel smirked at Dipper's bewildered face as she cracked open the tab and brought the beer to her mouth before tilting her head back and chugging down the contents of the can as quickly as possible.

She watched smugly as her brother grimaced. "Ugh, Mabel! Those were meant for celebrating our 21st this summer, plus you're gonna get us pulled over." He sighed. Once Mabel finished off the can she simply shrugged.

"Hey, I'm not the one driving!" She laughed, tossing the empty can back into the cooler before shoving it back into the trunk of the Jeep. She walked back over towards the passenger side of the car before tossing Waddle's bag that had been over her shoulder into the back seat of the convertible. She helped Waddles into the backseat where he shifted to lay against the seats comfortably.

"You're crazy, you know that?" Dipper laughed, shaking his head. Mabel just gave him a thumbs-up before she climbed into the passenger seat, slamming her door after her brother as he sat in the driver's seat and started the engine up. The Jeep turned and backed out of the driveway before heading down the street. A pair of yellow fuzzy stars and a pine-tree shaped air freshener attached to the rear-view mirror jangled as the vehicle moved. The garage door slowly closed, and the pair of twins were off on their adventure.

Mabel relaxed back against her seat as the wind blew past them over the convertible top of the Jeep. Her brown hair billowed behind her as the wind picked up as the vehicle's speed gradually increased. She glanced to Dipper who reached to turn the radio on, and she immediately perked up as one of her favorite songs was on. "Ohh! Dipping Sauce, turn this one up!" She grinned, already bouncing and jamming out in her seat.

Her brother chuckled but complied with her request as he turned the volume dial until the song was on blast. Mabel grinned and immediately began singing along to the lyrics with her arms stretched out above her head

"_I wanna love you but it hurts, hurts, hurts!_" Mabel all but shouted the lyrics over the rushing wind as Dipper turned out of their subdivision and onto the main road. Mabel noticed her brother glancing at her but with a grin, she kept singing. "_I wanna stay here but the time slips away from me~_" A few strands of hair blew in her face and she shifted to look out the side of the car as they drove past trees and houses.

"_I wanna stay here in this curse, curse, curse!_" Mabel whipped her head around to look at her brother as he sang the next verse. She grinned and sang the next line along with him. "_Black Flamingo, Black Flamingo!_"

Mabel shifted in her seat, moving her feet to slip off her purple flip-flops onto the floor in front of her before lifting her legs to rest her bare feet up on the dashboard. She caught a glimpse of Dipper tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the song, making her smile as she reclined back in her seat. She lifted her hand to take her sunglasses to place them on her face before closing her eyes. She relished the light of the sun on her skin and the warm summer breeze that gusted past their car as it flew down the road. Finally, she and her brother were getting a much-needed break from adult life; a chance to slow down and smell the roses and enjoy the summer as they used to when they were kids...

* * *

_Thump_... _Thump_... **_THUMP!_**

Mabel awoke as she felt the car's tires drive over a few bumps, jostling her along with some snacks she had fallen asleep with on her lap. Mabel grunted groggily as she shifted to sit up and she blinked as she heard her brother's voice greet her.

"Rise and shine, we're almost there! You can probably tell by the 'speedbumps'... Gotta love Gravity Falls signature potholes." He chuckled. Mable shifted to stretch her arms above her head, blinking as her hands touched the interior ceiling of the car. She'd forgotten they put the roof back on at the last pit stop a few hours prior.

"Mmm... How much longer? And what time is it..." She mumbled tiredly and reached to grab a water bottle in the cup holder beside her; unscrewing the cap to take a sip.

"Less than an hour; give or take. It's about half past eight now." Dipper responded. "Hey, pass me one of those." He said, glancing to the snacks that had fallen on the floor after the road bump.

"Mm, sure." Mabel glanced down to the floor where the snacks had fallen and reached to scoop them back up into her lap. "Which do you want? We got Chipackerz, Crystal Crackles, Rainbow Skittenz! Umm..."

"Oh, give me the Cookie Chips." He smiled.

Mabel smirked, placing the bag into his extended hand. "Hehe, Chips and Dip... Oh! A new nickname!" She suddenly burst out laughing, her brother blinking and giving an annoyed groan.

"Oh geez... Here we go." He sighed, and Mabel only giggled as she shifted in her seat to look out the window beside her.

The Jeep continued down the country road, the headlights lighting up the road and sides of the forest ahead of them. Mabel could have sworn she saw something small and human-like scamper quickly across a few feet in front of their car. She shifted to lean up in her seat.

"Yep, we're definitely in Gravity Falls now..." She grinned in excitement, and as time went on they both began to see road signs for the Mystery Shack. Mabel's head turned to look in the back seat where Waddles was sleeping peacefully; before she looked to her brother.

"So... How much do you think has changed?" She asked, blinking softly as Dipper glanced over to her briefly before returning his gaze to the road ahead.

"Ah, can't be too different. I mean sure, it's been a while since we've seen Grunkle Stan and Ford... But I'm sure they're still the same grouchy old men we know." He chuckled. "Though, seven years out at sea might have made them even grouchier."

Mabel gave a nod. "Yeah, and knowing Soos, he's probably still as dorky and lovable as ever." She laughed, before gasping. "Oh, and Wendy! I can't wait to see her... Oooh~ I bet you can't wait either!" She suddenly grinned, looking to her brother all starry-eyed, only to gasp as Dipper nearly swerved off the road, earning a startled squeal from Waddles.

"Gah, sorry Waddles." Mabel noticed a faint blush go over her brother's face and she giggled before he rolled his eyes. "Ugh, Mabel... She's probably moved on; probably has a really handsome boyfriend now who wears... Skinny jeans and has tattoos." He sighed, secretly wondering if she and Robbie might've gotten together in the end after all.

His sister blinked, pouting as she flopped back in her seat. She looked ahead as the Jeep slowed and Dipper turned down a separate road. Mabel spotted what was up ahead and she grinned. "Well... You could always talk to her and see since we're here!" She exclaimed excitedly as they approached the familiar triangular shaped building. The Jeep's headlights lit up the front of the building, revealing a newly painted sign with bright red lettering which read "Mystery Shack."

Mabel unbuckled her seatbelt as Dipper put pressure on the breaks and proceeded to park. He barely had time to turn off the engine before Mabel opened the car door and all but burst outside. Waddles scrambled from the backseat into the front before hopping out of the Jeep after her. His owner gave a relieved sigh, stretching out her arms and legs. "Uuugh, ten hours... Slay me." She groaned.

She turned to watch as Dipper had switched off the engine of the car and slammed shut his door once he stepped out. "Heh, you shouldn't be complaining; you weren't the one that had to drive the whole way!" He said as he stretched out as well.

"Only because you wouldn't let me, Dippin' Dots." Mabel snorted. Both the siblings paused however as the front door to the Mystery Shack opened, and a familiar old man stepped out in a robe and slippers onto the porch.

"Grunkle Stan!" The twins exclaimed; Mable rushing to immediately attack him in a hug. She all but knocked him over as she buried her head in his chest before beaming up at him. Even for his age, Stanley Pines was still the rugged, kick-ass old man she remembered him to be; though now with a few extra wrinkles. She grinned as her Grunkle returned the hug and gave her a kiss on the head.

"Kids! Well; you're not really kids anymore, are you?" He chuckled. Mabel watched happily as Stanley reached out to Dipper to ruffle his hair before pulling the young man into a hug with his sister. "Ah, it's good to see you two... Ford! Ford, get out here!" He called for his brother.

Mabel looked up as Stanford emerged after a few moments, mumbling something to himself what could only be calculations or some other scientific gibberish. Yep, her great uncle Ford hadn't changed a bit aside from aging a little more. She smiled as he seemed to drop what he was doing to run out and greet them.

"Dipper, Mabel! I ah, I forgot when you two would be arriving; I sort of got caught up in my studies." He chuckled sheepishly, adjusting his glasses as he reached out a six-fingered hand to his great niece. "Heh, I remember when I had to kneel down to greet you." He smiled, seemingly reminiscing.

Mabel blinked and chose to forgo the handshake to instead wrap her arms around his neck in a hug; catching Stanford by surprise. Mabel smiled as he returned the embrace, patting her back gently.

"I missed you guys so much." She said into his shoulder and only smiled wider as she felt Dipper join her in the hug; to which Stanford embraced them both.

"I ah... I missed you two as well." He said, still having a twinge of awkwardness, but a genuine love for his great niece and nephew. They both pulled away, just as another recognizable voice greeted them.

"Whoa, hey little dudes! Er, well you're not so little anymore!" A large rotund man smiled widely as he moved out of the front door of the shack.

"Soos!" Mabel beamed and watched as Dipper extended a balled-up fist, to which Soos met with his own in a fist-bump. Mabel looked back and forth between them as they conversed.

"You're still running things, right?" Dipper asked, stepping back to place his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"Oh yeah, business has been good! Plenty of new attractions, and I was renting out the living space for extra cash. Got a pretty good system going on." Soos smiled. Mabel suddenly beamed, her eyes nearly sparkling again.

"Ohh! How's Melody?" She asked, nearly beaming from ear to ear. Soos blinked, giving a chuckle before he rose his hand up to show off a wedding ring on one of his fingers. This made Mabel's eyes widen and the 20-year old all but imploded as a bright grin adorned her face.

"Heh, she's doing good; especially since I popped the big question a year or so back. We got our own place and everything just down the road and running the business here helps pay the bills."

"Wow, that's amazing Soos, congrats!" Dipper smiled, giving a thumbs-up.

"I just knew my match-making skills wouldn't fail me!" Mabel grinned and blinked as Soos moved back to the doorway and pushed the door open wider.

"I do owe it to you, Hambone..." He smiled to Mabel before turning to go inside. "Anywho, why don't you guys come in? I'll show you around." He offered.

Mabel went in after him, followed by her brother and their Grunkles. Soos lead them through the gift-shop entrance of the shack where new merchandise was stocked on the shelves. Bobble-heads, t-shirts, snow-globes, and figurines and plushies of some of Gravity Fall's mysterious creatures. It seemed that Soos' signature "?" was the new logo for the shop.

Mabel looked around wide-eyed, a wave of nostalgia hitting her as she could remember when she and Dipper first set foot in the shop and got to pick out their own souvenirs. She grinned as she glanced to Grunkle Stan as the old man leaned against the check-out counter with a Pitt-Cola in hand.

"Grunkle Stan, you know I still have the grappling hook you let me keep. I may or may not store it under my pillow in case of emergencies..." She grinned.

"Haha, that's my girl." He chuckled, winking towards her.

The young girl turned to Dipper as he approached the vending machine before looking towards Stanford. "Oh, Grunkle Ford! You still have your lab down there?" He asked inquisitively.

"Of course! Everything's still there, just as it was. Safe and sound." He nodded. "Which reminds me, now that you're here Dipper, I'll have to show you some of Stanley and I's findings since we went traveling to the Arctic Ocean. I have so many notes on the strange anomalies that have occurred there... And I could use a second, er, third but educated opinion." He chuckled, to which Stanley rolled his eyes and sipped from his drink.

Mable looked between Dipper and Ford and smirked, gently rolling her eyes. Yep, nothing had changed here; Grunkle Ford and Dipper were both two nerdy peas in a pod. She paused in her thoughts however as Stanford looked to her.

"Oh, and I haven't forgotten about you Mabel; I have some photos and film of a group of Narwhals; a blessing, if you will, that you might enjoy." He joked with a smile.

His great-niece gasped, her face brightening. "Ohmygosh; Narwhals? They're basically the unicorns of the sea! Except... Nicer, I hope." She scowled, remembering her first encounter with a real unicorn all those years ago. Her smile returned after a moment. "I would love to see them, Grunkle Ford!"

"How about we save all that for tomorrow?" Stanley interjected. "It's late; you two have been on the road all day and probably just wanna relax for a while, yeah?"

Dipper and Mabel shared glances but looked back to their Grunkle Stan and nodded. Mabel spoke up. "Sure! Though; I guess we should know where we're gonna be sleeping. We can't exactly share the attic like we used to."

"Well, you'll get the attic Hambone, while Dipper can have the spare room. Y'know the secret one I found with the weird shaggy rug where we all swapped bodies and I turned into a pig? Yeah... That was a weird day," Soos rubbed his head. "Not to worry though! That rug is in storage and I got the room all spruced up. Now it's just an extra bedroom." Soos explained as he polished off a snow-globe before placing it back on one of the shelves.

Mable grimaced, making a face. "Ugh; that's one memory I _didn't_ want to be reminded of... that was one of the strangest days in my life!" She exclaimed as she walked out of the gift shop and into the living room attached to it. She looked around; seeing that it was mostly the same aside from a few changes... Such as there being a larger, more modern television placed where her Grunkle Stan's old one used to be; as well as a full-sized couch as opposed to his single chair. This was... Surprising, to say the least, but from what she could tell all of Stanley's belongings were still there if not just moved around the room.

"Grunkle Stan, what happened to your stuff? I mean, everything is all... 'Different-y'" She pouted slightly. "Like your chair; and your old-timey t.v! At least the dinosaur skull is still here, and the shrunken heads..." Her brows furrowed as she continued looking around as if to see if any other changes had been made.

"Ahh, well, since Soos had been running the place and renting this space out some changes had to be made. Damn kids nowadays are too good for black and white t.v!" He laughed, giving a sigh as he moved to sit on the newer couch. "Ah, let me tell you though, this couch hugs my butt like my old one used to." He said as he relaxed.

Mabel blinked, her mouth thinning a little, but a small laugh escaped her finally as she moved to sit on the couch beside her Grunkle. She kicked her feet up to let her flip-flops fall to the floor and she smiled as Dipper slipped off his sneakers to join them. Waddles trotted in and settled on the floor in front of the couch under Mabel's feet.

"Whaddya kids say we see if there are any reruns of Ducktective on?" Grunkle Stan asked, taking a new remote in his hand before grunting in frustration as he struggled to figure out how to use it. Mabel chuckled, looking as Dipper snatched the remote from him suddenly.

"I got it." He said, pressing the power button to switch the television on and he began to browse the channels. Mabel looked towards Ford as he walked out into the gift shop with a pen and paper in hand. Her mouth thinned.

"Grunkle Ford! Why don't you watch some Ducktective with us?" She asked with a small, hopeful smile. It quickly faltered however as Stanford turned to her with a distracted shake of his head.

"Ah, perhaps another time. I'd like to study more of the research I made on those arctic anomalies." He said before the sound of beeping could be heard as he opened the vending machine to his secret lab below. Mabel watched him disappear with a small sigh before she flopped back against the couch.

"Typical Poindexter; too busy playing with calculators to hang out with his family." Grunkle Stan grunted with a roll of his eyes. Mabel blinked as an arm was wrapped around her. "Don't worry sweetie, that's how he's always been." He assured her. She slowly nodded, before shifting to lean her head against him as Dipper managed to find a channel that was showing a Ducktective rerun marathon.

"I'll see you dudes later! Gotta get home to the missus. I'll be back tomorrow!" Soos spoke up from the gift shop just as Mabel heard the door open with the soft ring of a bell.

"Goodbye, Soos!" Mabel said in near unison with Dipper before she settled back against her Grunkle; the sound of the t.v filling the room. Mabel's thoughts began to wander then as she took into account just how much things had changed and yet hadn't at the same time. Nostalgia was a weird feeling that she wasn't sure she liked. Sure, it was nice remembering everything that had happened that summer but then, she had to be reminded of how much she and her brother had grown up...

She just hoped things in Gravity Falls hadn't changed too much as time passed.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hey! Thanks for reading. Just wanted to put it out there that the story description is subject to change as this fanfic is still in development! Please feel free to leave feedback if you want to see more or have suggestions!


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